DHL Express appoints new Managing Director for Sub-Saharan Africa
Hennie Heymans, currently Managing Director of DHL Express South Africa, has been appointed as Managing Director of DHL Express Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). When Heymans takes up his new role on 1 October, he will oversee 51 countries and territories, over 3,500 employees and 250 facilities, five regional hubs and 14 dedicated DHL aircraft.
He succeeds Charles Brewer, who is now focussed on building a new African e-commerce venture as part of the Mara Group.
A South African national, Heymans joined DHL Express in 2001 as Head of the Direct Business Unit, supervising telesales, agents and retail in Namibia, Swaziland and Lesotho. Soon after this, he was appointed Managing Director for Central Africa, and managed eight markets in the region.
He later expanded his portfolio to become the Managing Director for Central Africa and Indian Ocean Islands (CENIO), before taking up his current role of Managing Director for the South African region in January 2013.
Commenting on his new role, Heymans said: “DHL Express will continue to invest in its people and network in Africa. Having entered the African market 37 years ago, we have witnessed the turnaround from the ‘forgotten continent’ to ‘Africa Rising’ and we now wish to be part of the next phase – ‘Africa Thriving’.”